What happens to an organization when it purges much of its leadership and ranks irrespective of ability, and hires for sycophantic loyalty instead? The FBI is finding out. 

Guests:  

Michael Feinberg, former assistant special agent in charge at the FBI’s field office in Norfolk, VA, now a fellow at Lawfare.

Quinta Jurecic, staff writer at The Atlantic.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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Conservatives have decried higher education as a center of liberal indoctrination for decades, and under the second Trump administration, colleges and universities are watching their federal funding be withheld or frozen, their presidents step down, and professors lose their jobs.

What can be done to wrest back academic freedom and independence from a vindictive administration?

Guest:  Sarah Brown, senior editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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Hasan Piker was scheduled to debate Charlie Kirk at Dartmouth College later this month, a left-vs-right, Vidal-vs-Buckley for the streaming age. In the wake of Kirk’s shocking death, Piker wants to continue to be clear about who Kirk was, what he stood for, and the reactionary political project he was working to advance.

Guest: Hasan Piker, Twitch streamer and left-wing political commentator. 

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther. 

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After their daughter committed suicide, they found her ChatGPT log—and where artificial intelligence helped her write her suicide note.

Guest:  Laura Reiley, writer for the Cornell Chronicle. 

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On Friday, authorities announced they had a suspect – and they sure seemed confident they “got him” (to quote Utah Governor Spencer Cox). Mary and Slatester Luke Winkie discuss the press conference – and what happens now.

Guest: Luke Winkie, Slate staff writer.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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Graphic, violent videos like the shooting of right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk circulate across social media moments after they happen, finding an audience even among people who have made no effort to seek them out.

Guest: Craig Silverman, journalist and cofounder of Indicator. 

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How a Supreme Court decision from the shadow docket opens the door to racial profiling, creates a nightmare for millions of Latino Americans, and drains dwindling legitimacy from the court itself.

Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer covering courts and the law for Slate, and the co-host of Amicus.

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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Last week, Donald Trump announced the military had blown up what he said was a drug-smuggling boat. This week, we still don’t know why he believes the boat was full of smugglers.

But even if they were trafficking drugs, can the president  legally blow up 11 people in international waters? 

Guests: Shane Harris, staff writer covering national security and intelligence for The Atlantic. 

Ana Vanessa Herrero, journalist based in Caracas, Venezuela and reporting on South America for the Washington Post.  

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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With Republicans holding both houses of Congress and the White House, Democrats don’t have a lot of ways to stall Donald Trump’s agenda—except for refusing to further fund the government and triggering a shutdown. They already passed on the opportunity once, but is the situation now so desperate that the opposition party needs to do something—anything?

Guest: Rep. Jamie Raskin, U.S. representative for Maryland's 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure as HHS Secretary has meant turmoil for the CDC: thousands of employees have either been let go, or are unclear on their employment status; leadership has been stepping down; and there was a shooting at their Atlanta building in August. The result is RFK being yelled at in the Senate, thousands of CDC employees calling for his resignation, and a country less prepared for the next pandemic. 

Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, science and global health reporter at the New York Times. 

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.

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